William Powell

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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CineMaven
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Re: William Powell

Post by CineMaven »

I'll take a quick curtsy for any credit you wish to give me and then skedaddle into the wings b'cuz it's YOUR fingers flying across the keyboard of Bill. I'm shocked...shocked to read you don't have a biography on your boy. Wassup wit dat?
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: William Powell

Post by JackFavell »

I am leery of doing the biography route too much....at least not with favorites anymore. Sometimes, I just don't want to know that the guy or girl I think of as perfect actually turned out to be all too human. There are things your mind can't erase, and I have several bios that completely turned me off of the people I was interested in in the first place. I know I'm silly to feel this way, but I'd rather retain my illusions.
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CineMaven
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Re: William Powell

Post by CineMaven »

I gotcha Wendy.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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MissGoddess
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Re: William Powell

Post by MissGoddess »

Wendy that was splendid, just splendid! I adore Powell, too, he is the perfect balance as you observed, between urban and urbane. He bridged common sense and nonsense brilliantly, better than anyone, really. I believe him in his roles, I enjoy them, and he's one of the most enduring of the early stars, meaning, to me he never palls or gets tiresome to watch. Many times he's the soul of a film, especially the later ones like Mister Roberts, How to Marry a Millionaire (how on earth could Bacall choose Cameron Mitchell over him??? Hollywood.) and sometimes he's the only saving grace, as in The Girl Who Had Everything (Powell is so much better than anyone else in it that he seems to be in another movie...Elizabeth's beauty notwithstanding...it's only when Bill is on that I can watch).

Great posts, marvelous pictures (the youthful ones made me laugh...I love how delightfully old fashioned he looked...like he was born to later go on to play Clarence Day). His career had one of the most classy, if too brief, second acts in Hollywood, too. I love that he brought a note of grace and gallantry and exited like the true gentleman he was. I don't think there too many of them around in his own time, even.

P.S. I read a bio on him when I was a teen, it may have been Gentleman: The William Powell Story, or if there was one made before that. I thought he had written or had an autobiography "ghosted", but I could be wrong. Now I think of it, he seems to have been much to private to have done that. One thing I remember from my reading, he went through a bad bout with cancer in the 1930s while he was still quite young, and went on to live until he was 90-something and managed to find enormous happiness with his second (or was it third?) wife, "Mousie" was her nickname.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: William Powell

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Well Writen ... Miss Goddess ... I especially like the 2nd paragraph ... I feel the same way as you do!
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: William Powell

Post by charliechaplinfan »

CineMaven wrote:What a wonderful tribute Wendy.

The warmth with which you speak of William Powell, the warmth with which you write is what I respond to. There's nothing perfunctory about the way you disseminate facts, information or reasons why you laud your favorite motion picture stars. There's no veil between you and any subject or you and the reader.

Helping my parents deal with an issue prevented me from settling down with Bill the other night. Having read your thread on Powell is the reason I felt missing out, acutely. Even if my emotional connection to him is not as strong as it is with Gable or Bogart or Cary, I have always respected William Powell and know that he's earned his well-deserved place in movies.

Keep writing, Favellspenskaya.
I think this is how I feel, I have an enormous respect for him and don't have a strong emotional connection to him. Interesting two of the others you name I do have a huge emotional connection to and that's Gable and Grant and Bogie I have a great deal of respect for.

I spent more time thinking about William Powell last night, one film I really enjoyed with him in is Manhattan Melodrama, he makes a great team with Gable and another example is with Tracy, the other men's reputation outside the classic movie mad public have stood the test of time better but Powell's is a little more obscure although he was never justthe other actor but a big hitting co star, it's always a two horse race. I wonder if he doesn't have a name as big as Tracy, gable and Bogart is as much to do with his rather unimpeachable personal life rather than his acting and box office returns. Obviously a big star in his day, one with longevity, his female counterpart to me is Irene Dunne, an outstanding actress who deserves to be better known and for some reason she isn't.

With Powell, the sillier he is the more I like him, it's in his more sincere roles were I lose touch a little. I have realised reading this thread that I really have to revisit his later work as it's so long since I saw any of it.

I agree Wendy about the biography route, the big stars we just can't help knowing about but others who kept their private lives closer to their chests are sometimes better to be left to our own imagination.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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CineMaven
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Re: William Powell

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[b][u][color=#404000]charliechaplinfan[/color][/u][/b] wrote:...I wonder if he doesn't have a name as big as Tracy, gable and Bogart is as much to do with his rather unimpeachable personal life rather than his acting and box office returns. Obviously a big star in his day, one with longevity, his female counterpart to me is Irene Dunne, an outstanding actress who deserves to be better known and for some reason she isn't.
I'm a big Irene Dunne fan. Maybe Dunne's not as well-remembered b'cuz she was very subtle in her performances. She wasn't a bombshell ( Rita ), didn't have thespian pyrotechnics
( Bette ), wasn't married to a big studio head and had the creme of the scripts ( Norma ), wasn't a bombshell ( Harlow ), had a happy private life and wasn't driven
( Joanie ) and maybe her movies aren't played as frequently as other stars. It's difficult to know why some stars are well-known, and other stars are somewhat forgotten. So many factors come into play.

Guess it's up to us film buffs to keep their careers alive. I really can't wait until Tuesday, December 20th at 9:00AM when TCM airs its birthday tribute to Irene Dunne and watch her lock horns with the great Myrna Loy in "Thirteen Women"; she's the other actress I thought was Dunne's equal and had the same kind of temperament.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: William Powell

Post by charliechaplinfan »

If only I could watch Irene's day, she's so talented yet she's someone I discovered by getting more and more enamoured of classic film rather than a reputation that went before her.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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movieman1957
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Re: William Powell

Post by movieman1957 »

Thanks for the heads up on Dunne's day. She has always been a favorite. Anyone can see her on Monday too as part of Grant's day. "Penny Serenade" is on at 6am.

I found out she could sing when I saw her version of "Show Boat." Of course there was her little version of that song in "The Awful Truth" but I really didn't count that one.
Chris

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CineMaven
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Re: William Powell

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Glad I was able to alert you MM'57. I'm not sure why Cary's getting a day on Monday. It's not his birthday or anything (he and I share that day on the 18th of next month)..not that I'm complaining to see Cary Grant. I think Irene's singing in "The Awful Truth" was just a wink and a nod ( ;-) ) to her singing career. It's like Doris Day singing a little bit of "Que Sera Sera" in the movie "Please Don't Eat the Daisies."

Alison I hope you can find a way to check out some of Irene Dunne's films. Say...why can't you ? Is it not on the schedule 'cross the pond?
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movieman1957
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Re: William Powell

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TCM in England is a whole different animal.
Chris

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Re: William Powell

Post by CineMaven »

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

So what we see here, she does not see there. Bummer.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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charliechaplinfan
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Re: William Powell

Post by charliechaplinfan »

A completely different animal, not one I'd pay for, it doesn't show the old gems that TCM America does, I am indebted to Nancy and a couple of other friends who send me goodies from time to time, that way I'm able to join in.

I've recently started a thread on Fred and Ginger and watching Fred reminds me in ways of William Powell, there seems to be so many parellels, we ultimately think of them as debonair and unruffled even in the midst of comedy situations, they are both tremendous artists and both found film fame after their first flush of youth. Which then reminds me of Powell's silents, has anyone caught him in The Last Command, an excellent silent movie, he makes a very chilling baddie.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: William Powell

Post by Rita Hayworth »

charliechaplinfan wrote: Which then reminds me of Powell's silents, has anyone caught him in The Last Command, an excellent silent movie, he makes a very chilling baddie.
Yes, Allison ... he was very good in that movie and I was amazed how well he did with his mannerisms in becoming a baddie so good ... that he surprises me how good an actor in his silent days. It was one of the first William Powell movie that I've seen in my life and when I read your post about Powell ... its jarred my memory bank of the many talents that he had as an actor.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: William Powell

Post by charliechaplinfan »

It's so at odds to the persona that I know. Did Powell play baddies later on in his career? He was very villanous in the silents. Like another favourite of mine Charles Boyer, they needed sound to be really appreciated.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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